Splicing in circular knitting machines



Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL' 3,111,827 s ucmq m CIRCULAR KNITTINGmcnzmas Filed May 1, 1961 7 Sheets-She et 1 P I mvcuroas:

PETER A. MAHLER KERWIN RBOYER ATTYS.

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,111,827

SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1 1961TORS HLER BOYER INV ETER A. ERWIN R.

ATTYS Nov; 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL sPLIcINc IN CIRCULAR KNITTINGMACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 1, 1961 INVENTORS: PETER A. MAHLERKERWlN R. BOYER ATTYS,

Nov. 26, 1963 RA. MAHLER ETAL 3,111,827

' SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, 1961 7Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGJ3.

INVENTORS: PETER A. MAHLER BY KERWIN R.BOYER ATTYS,

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,111,327

A SPLICING m cmcuum KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, i961 7 Sheets-*She'et5 I E mvzufrons;

PETER A. MAHLER KERWIN R. BOYER ATTYS'.

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ET AL SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINESFiled May 1, 1961 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS r v .51 W A MAHLER PETER A1 KERWIN R. BOYER Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL ,3

SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet7 PETER A. MAHL. KERWIN R. BOYER BY ATTYSI 3,111,825? Ice Patented Now.as, 1963 1 3,111,827 SPLKIING IN CCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Peter A.Mahler, ?hiladelphia, and Kerwin R. Boyer,

Gilhertsviile, Pa, assignors, by mesne assignments, to

The Finger Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey FiledMay 1, 1961, Ser. N 166,562 8 (Jlairns. (til. 6649) The presentinvention relates to the circular knitting machines of the type formanufacturing sheer ladies hose. The invention is particularly directedto a method and apparatus for controlling the insertion and removal orwithdrawal of the splicing yarn, particularly in the heel and footportions of the stocking.

The present invention has particular utility in circular knittingmachines which are operated continuously and unidirectionally withoutreciprocatory motion to form heel pockets and toe pockets, the productof the machine being a straight knitted tube open at both ends andtapering slightly from the Welt to the toe. When the stocking issubsequently finished, the toe is closed, for example by a seam, and thestocking is shaped to conform to the contour of the leg by theconventional boarding and finishing techniques.

In stockings of this type, it is customary to provide a reinforced areain the heel and foot portions in order to strengthen the hosiery in thearea where it is subject to the greatest stress during the finalfinishing operations and in the subsequent wearing. The shape of thereinforcing in the area where the heel is formed is normally similar tothe shape of the heel pockets formed by the reciprocatory knittingoperations of the conventional hosiery machine.

There are two conventional methods of inserting reinforcing strands intoa knitted tube of the type to which the present invention relates, thefirst comprising accurate control of the feed finger for the reinforcingstrand so as to insert it and withdraw it from the needle circle at theproper points during each revolution of the knitting machine. in orderto insure proper insertion and Withdrawal of the reinforcing yarn bythis method, it may not be possible to attain the highest speeddesirable. Furthermore, it has been the practice if it is desired to usea reinforcing yarn in dual feed machines, to do so in only one feedstation of the machine, requiring the accurate control of the yarn feedfinger at only one feed station. However, multiple feed machines whereinthe reinforcing yarn is inserted at more than one station render itdifficult to accurately control the movement of the plural feed fingersfor the reinforcing yarn to insure that the reinforcing yarns insertedat the plurality of feed stations are all inserted at the same point soas to avoid a ragged or uneven outline of the reinforced area.

The second method of selectively splicing an area consists of the usualneedle selection wherein the selected needles are raised to takeadditional yarn. This method heretofore has required the use of a needleselecting mechanism, usually applied to what are called high cylindermachines where a large number of butts on needle selecting jacks areavailable and in which patterns are controlled by a pattern selectingdrum carrying pattern selecting jacks having a number of butts equal tothe number of butts on the needle selecting jacks. Associated with eachrow of butts is a lever. In one typical example, about twenty-six suchbutts are involved requiring pattern selecting jacks with twenty-sixbutts and twenty-six cooperative levers. This form of mechanism tends towear excessively and requires the aforesaid high cylinder, thusinvolving a costly and space-occupying assembly. On rnulti-feedmachines, the provision of more than one set of such mechanismsubstantially adds to the complication of the machine.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides means forselecting identical needles at multiple feed stations with very fewbutts on the selected jacks, avoiding the use of the intermediatepattern selector jacks.

More particularly, the present invention provides means for controllingthe insertion and withdrawal of the reinforcing yarn by operation of asingle selector drum or bank of cams and a limited number of levers toselect the individual needles to duplicate the complexity of selectionobtained by the two conventional methods.

More specifically, the present invention provides a low cylinder machinehaving a single selector drum or bank of cams to operate jack-selectinglevers for all of the feed stations which insert reinforcing yarns in amulti-feed machine. in the illustrated embodiment, there are two suchfeed stations, each having only three levers to attain the complexpattern of reinforcing.

The present invention enables the use of a small number of butts forcontrolling the insertion and Withdrawal of the reinforced yarn byoperation of the individual needles in conjunction with the yarn feedfingers so that the exact point of insertion and withdrawal isdetermined by the operation of the needles themselves.

The present invention also provides mechanism which may be incorporatedin a standard knitting machine without substantial rebuilding wherebythe standard low-cylinder machine may be converted to knit a pattern ofreinforcing.

All of the objects of the invention and the various features and detailsof the construction and operation of the apparatus are more fully setforth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

PEG. 1 is a View in perspective of a knitted tube made in accordancewith the present invention;

PEG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a completed stocking embodying areinforced area made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged development of the reinforced area of the knittedtube of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the area enclosed by thebroken line box identified by the reference numeral 4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view in a horizontal plane showing thebed of a knitting machine made in accordance with the present invention,with the needle circle and feed stations shown schematically therein,and illustrating the ratchet-driven cams for operating the jack slidesof the knitting machine to produce a reinforced area in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 5 showing theoperation of one element of the mechanism;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged sectional views taken on the lines 7-7 and 83respectively of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are detached perspective views of certain elements of themechanism shown in PEG. 5;

MG. 11 is a modified form of the element shown in PEG. 10;

PEG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of PEG. 5;

51G. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line13-45 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary view in side elevation showing the connectionsfrom the main drive and the pattern rum to the ratchet mechanism shownin FIG. 5;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the operation of thecam follower and the cams on the pattern drum shown in FIG. 14;

PEG. 16 is a development of the cylinder showing the jack slides and theneedle tracks during the formation of the reinforced area;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of the jack butt patterns for the formation of thereinforced area shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive; and

FIGS. 18 to 23 inclusive are diagrams of the cams and followers shown inFIG. 5.

The apparatus of the present invention is illustrated as a part of amulti-feed knitting machine made in accordance with the copendingapplication of Peel and Mahler, Serial Number 34,799 filed June 8, 1960,and reference may be had thereto for a more complete description of anapparatus to which the present invention may be applied.

With reference to the attached drawings, the machine illustrated thereinis adapted to knit a stocking blank having a turned welt 25, a shadowwelt 26, a leg 27 and a heel and foot portion 2 8 in which is included areinforced area 29. When the stocking is subsequently finished, as shownin FIG. 2, the heel and foot portion 28 is shaped to the contour of thefoot so that the reinforced area 29 covers the heel and the sole of thestocking. As shown in FIG. 4, the leg and upper portion of the heel andtoe portion are knit with a mesh pattern having in alternate courses athe sequence of three plain stitches P and one tuck stitch T. Theintermediate courses b are knit with plain stitches P throughout. In thereinforced area 29, the intermediate courses b are similarly knit withplain stitches, and the alternate courses a are knit plain throughoutwith both a leg yarn and a reinforcing yarn, as indicated at R in FIG.4. A smooth contour is provided by the present invention, as shown inFIG. 4, by increasing the length of the reinforced area of each coursestepwise along the imaginary line indicated by the broken line S.

In accordance with the invention, the initiation and termination of thereinforcing stitches R in each course is controlled precisely by asimplified jack-selection mechanism operating upon the needles to raiseselected needles to an elevated level so as to intercept yarn fedthereto from a yarn feed finger which is elevated above the level of theyarn feed finger which normally feeds the body yarn to the needlesthroughout the formation of the leg portion 27 and foot portion 28. Theelevation of the selected needles to the higher level thereby insuresthat the selected needles will take both the body yarn and thereinforcing yarn at the proper feed stations, the nonselected needles,being lower, taking only the body yarn without taking the reinforcingyarn.

In order to form the contour of the reinforcing area 29 shown in FIGS. 1to 4 inclusive, the present invention embodies a minimum of additionalbutts on the pattern In the present instance, two additional butts areprovided and the lowermost guide butt of the jack is also used, thesethree butts cooperating with three additional jack slides beyond thoseshown in the copending application of Peel and Mahler, above-identified.

In the machine illustrated in FIG. 5, the frame 351 of the machinemounts for rotation therein a circle of needles 32 which rotatescounterclockwise past feed stations designated 33-1, 33-2, 33-3 and33-4. In the present instance, the feed stations 33-2 and 33-4-alternately knit the plain courses b throughout the entire stocking andthe feed stations 33-1 and 33-3 alternately knit the mesh and reinforcedcourses a. The mesh and the pattern of reinforced stitches arecontrolled by jack slide stations 34-1 and sea respectively. As shown inFIG. 16, each jack slide station includes an upper jack slide 36, agroup of mesh jack slides 37 and, in the present instance, threereinforce jack slides 41, 42 and 43. A needle slide 44 is alsopositioned at each jack slide station which may be engaged to elevateall of the needles to the aforementioned elevated position.

In accordance with the invention, the reinforce jack slides 41, 42 and43 are operated and controlled from a reinforce cam hank designatedgenerally 46. The slides at the station Ta l-ll are operated directly byfollowers 4 7-1 and the slides at the station 34-3 are oper- '4 ated byfollowers 47-3 through a train of follower push rods 48-35, as clearlyshown in FIGv 5.

With reference to FIGS. 7-and 8, the reinforce cam bank 46 comprises acam post 51 mounted for rotation on an upstanding stub shaft 52. The campost mounts six cams 61-1, 61-3, 62-h, 62-3, 63-1 and 63-3. It isapparent that the cams 61 control the slides 41, the cams 62 control theslides 42 and the cams as control the slides 43 respectively. The camsare fixedly mounted on the cam post 51 in their proper relationship bymeans of a cam index pin 53. Formed integrally with the cam post 51 is aratchet wheel 54 having a series of ratchet teeth 55, interrupted in thepresent instance at two locations by dead spots 55 and 57 (see FIG. 5).An actuating pawl 65 is mounted on an arm as rotatable on the stub shaft5?, to drive the cam bank 46. A stop pawl 6% is mounted on the frame 31to prevent reverse movement of the ratchet wheel 54 during retraction ofthe pawl 65.

Since the index pin 53 fixes the relative positions of the cams for therespective jack slide stations, adjusting means is provided on thefollowers 47-1 as indicated at 67. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, asubstitute follower arm designated 47-h; is provided with amicrometer-type adjustment as indicated at 57a. The adjustment for thefollower 57-3 is provided in the tram of push rods 48-3 as indicated at69. I

The pawl 55 is continuously oscillated over the on cumferential lengthof one tooth 55 as indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 5. To this end,a pawl operator 71 is connected to the pawl 65 at one end, and ispivoted, as shown at 72 in FIG. 14 at its other end to a pivoted lever'73 which is oscillated by an eccentric 74 on a drive shaft '75 of theknitting machine.

With the pawl 65 resting on the dead spot 56, as shown, continuedoscillation of the lever 73 does not effect movement of the ratchetwheel 54. In order to initiate movement of the ratchet wheel 54, meansis provided on a; pattern drum of the knitting machine to control theopera-: tion of the cam bank 46. A pattern drum of the knitting machineis shown at ill in FIG. 14, the drum having an overhang which providesan exposed under-surface 82 thereon. A cam element 83 is mounted on theundersurface 82 to engage a follower 84 having an arm 85 pivoted to acontrol lever 86. The remote end of the control lever 86 is providedwith an elongated slot 87 which receives and permits oscillatorymovement therein of a pin 88 on the pivoted arm '73. When the follower$4 is engaged and displaced by the cam 23,- the retractrve movement ofthe arm 36 engages the end abutment 89 of the slot 37 against the pin 88and displaces the arm a distance sufficient to cause the actuating p 65P over the dead spot 56 (see FIG. 6) and initiate stepwise rotation ofthe ratchet wheel 54 and cam bank 6 under the oscillatory movement ofthe pivoted arm The rotary movement of the cam bank 46 continues urlillthe dead spot 57 passes into engagement with the pawl 65, at which timethe movement is arrested until the second cam 91 on the pattern drum 31is displaced into engagement with the follower 84 to thereby againinitiate stepwise rotation of the cam bank 46. The can? bank- 46continues its rotation until the next dead spot in the present instancethe dead spot 56, is reached.

During the stepwise rotation of the cam bank 46, the cams d1, 62 and 63operate to selectively displace the jack slides 41, 42 and 43respectively to elevate selected needles to an elevated position. Withreference to the cylinder development of FIG. 16, the needles aredisplaced between a stitch draw position d2, a tuck position 93, and aclearing position 94. When knitting plain, all of the needles areelevated to the clearing position at each feed station wherein they arethendrawn to the stitch. draw position 92 and returned to the tuckposition. When making mesh, selected needles, in the present instance,every fourth needle, is retairiedatthe tucliposi tion wherein the looppreviously knit thereon deos not clear the latch and its interknit withthe loop subsequently knit thereon. The operation of the mesh cams 37 toeffect this selection is described in detail in the aforementionedcopending application of Peel and Mahler.

According to the present invention, the reinforce jack slides 41, 42 and43 operate to selectively elevate needles to an elevated position 95above the clearing position 94. To this end, as best shown in FIG. 16,the reinforce jack slides 43, 42, and 41 are longer than the mesh jackslides 37 and therefore operate on the jack butts to raise the jacks andtherefore push the needles to the elevated position 95 at each of thefeed stations 331 and 33-3. At each of these feed stations, there aretwo separate yarn feeds, each at a different position. The body yarnfeed $6 is at a position to engage the body yarn in the hooks of all ofthe needles passing through the feed station. The reinforce yarn feed97, on the other hand, is at an elevated position so that it onlyengages reinforcing yarn in those needles which are at the elevatedposition @5. This is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 16 and graphicallyin FIG. 13.

in order to select the needles to provide the reinforce contour shown at28, the simplified apparatus of the present invention provides only twoadditional levels of butts on the jacks 1%. In addition, the bottomguide butt fill of the jack is provided with selectively differing buttlengths. The additional butt levels are indicated at 102 and 1&3respectively in FIG. 16. It is apparent that the butts 162i cooperatewith the jack slides 41, the butts 1G2 cooperate with the jack slides42, and the butts 103 cooperate with the jack slides 43. As shown in thejack diagram in FIG. 17, the butts at the level 163 are provided withten different butt lengths, the jacks at the level 162 are provided withten different butt lengths and the bottom guide jacks 1M are providedwith eight different butt lengths, all of the jacks having a butt of atleast minimum length at the level laid in order to insure proper guidingof the jacks in the jack cam track.

With reference to FIGS. 17-23, it is apparent that, in the illustratedposition of the cam where the pawl 65 is resting on the dead spot 56,all of the jack slides 41, 42 and 43 are in their fully retractedposition. When the pawl is kicked off the dead spot by the pattern drumearn 83, the cam bank 46 is ratcheted to advance the slides 434i and43-3 to the first position to form the first course of the reinforce 29.The advance of the slide 41 causes all of the selected needles in thatportion of the course to be raised to the elevated position 95, therebyeliminating the tuck stitches in that portion.

Each revolution of the machine advances the cam bank one step, therebyadvancing the slides stepwise according to the pattern of the cams shownin FIGS. 18-23. The stepwise advance continues for a half revolution,until the pawl 65' reaches the second dead spot 57. At this point, thereinforce pattern has been widened by two needles at each side duringeach step of the advance, and the pattern is at its widest point. Thepattern continues at its widest point to form a rectangular area untilthe next pattern drum cam 91 kicks the pawl off the dead spot 57.Advance of the cams then continues and the reinforce area narrowsstepwise to its minimum point at which point the pawl 65 is again at thedead spot 56. vIt remains at this point, knitting reinforcement ofminimum width, until the pattern drum again provides a cam (not shown)for kicking the pawl 65 off the dead spot, at which time widening of thereinforce area recommences. When the reinforce area is at its widestwidth again, the advance of the drum is halted by the dead spot 57 andthe knitting of reinforcing yarns into the stocking is arrested byraising the reinforce feed finger to an elevated position, for example,as shown at 98 in FIG. 13 to thereby withdraw the reinforcing yarn fromthe needle circle. A further cam (not shown) on the pattern drum kicksthe pawl 65 off the dead spot 57 so that the cam bank may return to thestarting position shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that the present invention provides a selection amongtwenty-eight needles on only three levels of butts, thereby enabling theuse of a low cylinder with a single circle of jacks having a minimumnumber of butt levels. The pattern in the illustrated embodiment isrelatively simple, adding width in a regular predetermined manner, sothat at each butt level, the butt lengths are increased in regularsequence. It should be understood that the pattern of the area may bevaried by a judicious selection of butt lengths.

In like manner, the jack slides of the illustrated embodiment areadjusted stepwise inwardly separately and in sequence. Greater variationis possible by adjusting the slides concurrently.

In order to reduce the length of the cylinder, the jack slides 4'1, 42and 43 overlap one another vertically. Thus, the vertical rise providedby the slide is greater than the vertical spacing of the butt levels.The overlapping arrangement of the slides limits to some extent theconcurrent adjustment of the slides. In the operation of the slides, theuppermost slide must be advanced toward the cylinder first, and eachsucceeding slide cannot be advanced further than the upwardly adjacentslide. Otherwise, the succeeding slide, because of its length, mightengage a butt at the upwardly adjacent level on a jack which is not tobe selected for elevation. Such engagement would elevate such jack andmay cause serious operational malfunction. By operating the slides sothat each slide is advanced no further than the upwardly adjacent slide,it is possible to provide elevation of the jacks through a distancegreater than the spacing of the butts on the jacks.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention, and a singlecontour for the reinforcing pattern have been illustrated and describedherein, it is not intended to limit the invention to this particulardisclosure, but changes and modifications may be made therein andthereto Within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for controlling the insertion of reinforcing yarn in acircular knitting machine for knitting a tube of at least one body yarncomprising a feed station, a circle of knitting needles mounted forrelative revolution past said feed station, a circle of jacks underlyingsaid needle circle and having at least one jack for each needle toposition the latter, butts on said jacks disposed at a plurality oflevels, at least one needle selection station in advance of said feedstation, including jack slides cooperable with said jack butts to effectselection of needles to dispose the selected needles in an elevatedposition above the position of the non-selected needles and yarn feedmeans at said feed station comprising a body yarn feed finger positionedbelow said elevated position to introduce a body yarn into the hooks ofboth said selected and said non-selected needles, and a reinforcing yarnfeed finger positioned above said body yarn feed finger and above theposition of said non-selected needles to introduce a reinforcing yarninto the hooks of only said selected needles, avoiding engagement of thereinforcing yarn in the hooks of the non-selected needles; theimprovement wherein said jack butts comprise butts of a plurality ofdifferent lengths, said selection station including cam means operableon said jack slides to selectively advance said slides stepwise towardsaid cylinder to selectively engage said butts, the steps of saidadvance correponding to the different lengths of butts.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said ca-m means comprises arotary cam for each slide, means mounting said cams for concurrentrotation, and drive means for said cams to advance the same rotationallyone step during and in timed relation to said needle and jack circle.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of said cams operate toadvance its associated slide toward said jac circle stepwise from afully withdrawn position to a fully advanced position, said earns beingmounted for operation on said slides in sequence one after the other..

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said drive means includes aratchet Wheel having a series of teeth interrupted by at least one deadspot, and pawl means to en age said teeth, and continuously operableactuating means to reciprocate said pawl over the distance of oneratchet tooth to advance said cams stepwise continuously until said pawlengages said dead spot, and separate control means selectively operableto reciprocate said pawl means beyond said dead spot to thereby effectresumption of said continuous stepwise advance of said cams by saidactuating means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said knitting machine includesa rotary pattern drum, said separate control means comprising a cam onsaid pattern drum and follower means connected to said pawl andengageable with said cam to reciprocate the pawl beyond said dead spot.

6. In a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder with jacksslidable axially therein, said jacks having radially projecting buttsarranged in a series of levels in vertically spaced relation, a seriesof jack slides corresponding in number and vertical-spacing to said buttlevels, at least two adjacent jack slides having a vertical rise greaterthan said vertical spacing of the butt levels to thereby verticallyoverlap the adjacent slide, and means to displace said slides radiallytoward said cylinder to selectively engage the butts and effect verticaldisplacement of said jacks a distance corresponding to the verti- 8 calrise of said slides, said distance being greater than the verticalspacing of the butt levels.

7. A circular knitting machine according to claim 6 wherein said meansto displace said slides includes cams operahle to advance the first andsecond overlapping slides of said series, said cams advancing the secondoverlapping slide of said series a distance no further than the advanceof said first overlapping slide whereby each butt which clears the firstslide in the area of said overlapping also clears the second slide.

8. The method of operating a vertical series of jack slides of acircular knitting machine having a needle cylinder with jacks therein,said jacks having butts cooperable with said slides, comprising thesteps of providing a vertical rise on said slides greater than thevertical spacing therebetween, advancing said slides stepwise toward theneedle cylinder to selectively engage the butts of the jacks therein,and controlling the advance of said slides so that the uppermost slideof said series is advanced first, and each remaining slide is advancedno further than the upwardly adjacent slide in the series.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,872,760 Lawson Aug. 23, 1932 2,460,487 Bristow Feb. 11, 1949 3,004,414Billi Oct. 17, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,066,885 France June 10, 1954751,811 Great Britain July 4, 1956

1. IN APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE INSERTION OF REINFORCING YARN IN ACIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE FOR KNITTING A TUBE OF AT LEAST ONE BODY YARNCOMPRISING A FEED STATION, A CIRCLE OF KNITTING NEEDLES MOUNTED FORRELATIVE REVOLUTION PAST SAID FEED STATION, A CIRCLE OF JACKS UNDERLYINGSAID NEEDLE CIRCLE AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE JACK FOR EACH NEEDLE TOPOSITION THE LATTER, BUTTS ON SAID JACKS DISPOSED AT A PLURALITY OFLEVELS, AT LEAST ONE NEEDLE SELECTION STATION IN ADVANCE OF SAID FEEDSTATION, INCLUDING JACK SLIDES COOPERABLE WITH SAID JACK BUTTS TO EFFECTSELECTION OF NEEDLES TO DISPOSE THE SELECTED NEEDLES IN AN ELEVATEDPOSITION ABOVE THE POSITION OF THE NON-SELECTED NEEDLES AND YARN FEEDMEANS AT SAID FEED STATION COMPRISING A BODY YARN FEED FINGER POSITIONEDBELOW SAID ELEVATED POSITION TO INTRODUCE A BODY YARN INTO THE HOOKS OFBOTH SAID SELECTED AND SAID NON-SELECTED NEEDLES, AND A REINFORCING YARNFEED FINGER POSITIONED ABOVE SAID BODY YARN FEED FINGER AND ABOVE THEPOSITION OF SAID NON-SELECTED NEEDLES TO INTRODUCE A REINFORCING YARNINTO THE HOOKS OF ONLY SAID SELECTED NEEDLES, AVOIDING ENGAGEMENT OF THEREINFORCING YARN IN THE HOOKS OF THE NON-SELECTED NEEDLES; THEIMPROVEMENT WHEREIN SAID JACK BUTTS COMPRISE BUTTS OF A PLURALITY OFDIFFERENT LENGTHS, SAID SELECTION STATION INCLUDING CAM MEANS OPERABLEON SAID JACK SLIDES TO SELECTIVELY ADVANCE SAID SLIDES STEPWISE TOWARDSAID CYLINDER TO SELECTIVELY ENGAGE SAID BUTTS, THE STEPS OF SAIDADVANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE DIFFERENT LENGTHS OF BUTTS.